Posted by Suleiman Wali (165.247.9.232) on September 21, 2001 at 10:49:18:
Giuliani Says More Than 6,300 Missing at WTC
September 20, 2001 5:36pm
Producer: Suleiman Wali
Watch ABC 7 eVideo
New York - Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said
Thursday that the number of missing
and presumed dead at the World Trade
Center has climbed to 6,333 - an
increase of more than 900 since the last
estimate.
"The number may go up or down," Giuliani said. He said the
higher number reflects reports of foreigners believed to be in the
ruins.
Giuliani has said it is virtually certain that no one will be found
alive. The number of missing had been at 5,422 for several
days.
According to the mayor, the British consulate reported that 250 of
its citizens were among the missing. The bodies of 241 people
have been recovered from the Trade Center ruins. Of those, 170
have been identified by the coroner.
Earlier Thursday, with the small steps of children walking back
into schools and the sounds of traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge,
lower Manhattan edged closer to normal.
But at ground zero, where two of the world's tallest buildings were
demolished by terrorists, rescue workers hunting survivors toiled
in vain. A delegation of 40 U.S. senators toured the World Trade
Center site for a firsthand look at the devastation.
Giuliani acknowledged that the combination of the 2,000-degree
fire caused by the explosion of two hijacked planes and the
implosion of the 110-story towers make it likely that some
victims' bodies will never be recovered.
"Even weeks ahead, while we're removing stuff, obviously we're
going to be looking," Giuliani said. "Right now, the possibility still
remains. They're slim, but they still remain."
Still, the curtain of sadness that had enveloped the city since
Sept. 11 parted a bit on Thursday, as thousands of students who
were driven from their classrooms near the World Trade Center
by the attack went back to school.
But not back to their own schools, which remain closed. Instead,
they moved into other schools around the city, a tight squeeze
but not an unhappy one.
"I'm excited to be back," said kindergartner Jason Brilliant as he
arrived at Public School 3 in Greenwich Village. "It was a long
time because the World Trade Center went `boom."'
Parents exchanged hugs and smiles outside the school's red
doors.
"The kids were amazing," said teacher Julie Hiraga, who clutched
the hands of two students as they ran for safety last week.
The Brooklyn Bridge - a pathway to safety for thousands as they
fled the collapsing Trade Center - reopened two
Manhattan-bound lanes to automobile traffic for the first time
since the attack. The Holland Tunnel could reopen next week,
Port Authority officials said.
A delegation of 40 U.S. senators, led by Majority Leader Tom
Daschle and Minority Leader Trent Lott, toured the Trade Center
site for a look at the ruins left by the worst terrorist attack ever
on American soil.
"We support you," said Daschle, D-S.D. "We're here because we
recognize this loss must be shared not only by New Yorkers, but
by all Americans."
The group pledged to help the city recover and rebuild from the
attack. Last week, Congress voted a $40 billion appropriation to
help New York. The Bush administration has pledged to cover all
the costs of the massive cleanup.
"I've never seen anything comparable to what we've seen here
today, the magnitude of it," said Lott, R-Miss. "It's so important
that we come and see what we're dealing with."
Larry Silverstein, leader of a consortium that took over a
99-year, $3.2 billion lease on the complex in July, said Thursday
he intends to rebuild - but not "a carbon copy of what was."
Instead, he may construct four 50-story buildings.
At least 30 people remained hospitalized at five Manhattan
hospitals that saw the majority of patients following the attack.
Twenty Manhattan hospitals treated people that day, said Mary
Johnson of the Greater New York Hospital Association. All in all,
83 hospitals in the five boroughs and the suburban counties of
Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk treated 5,284 people, Johnson
said. Of them, 418 were admitted.
Some residents were allowed into Battery Park City on Thursday
for the first time since the attack. They were allowed just 15
minutes. Most emptied refrigerators of spoiled food and packed
precious items into a suitcase or two.
When will they be allowed back to their homes?
"You can ask five different people, you get five different
answers," said Jay Jaffe, 34, an equity trader who lugged some
of his possessions through the rain.
©2001 WJLA-TV. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights
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